504 



PYRAMID 



17 feet x 19 feet, and 20 feet MfB. I Hi* was 

 led by a pauage rising at an inclination of 

 8', terminating in a horizontal passage. It is 

 il the Queen'- ( hamlici. iinil occupies a posi- 



roof, wai constructed in the masonry of the pyra- 

 mid. 17 feet x 19 feet, and 20 feet high. This was 

 reached 

 26* 18' 



called ... . . 



tion nearly in the centre of tin- jiyraniid. The 

 monument' probably owing to the long lite attained 

 by the monarch still progressing, a third chamlicr, 

 called the King's, was then constructed by prolong- 

 ing the ascending [wvwagc of the Queen 'H ( ImmU-r 

 for 180 feet further into the MTV centre of the pyra- 

 mid, and after a short horizontal passage, making 

 a room 17 x 34 feet, and 19 feet high. To dim- 

 ini-h the pressure of tbe raperincnmbent masonry 

 on the flat roof live small chamlieix ( E in fig.) were 

 made vertically in succession aliove the roof, the 

 apex of the ranted uppermost eliamlier (in which 

 the name of Chufii is scrawled) l>eing rather more 

 than 69 feet ahove the roof of the King's Chamlicr. 

 The end of the horizontal passage was carefully 

 finished, and cased with slabs of red syenitic 

 granite exquisitely lined together; ninl in the 

 King's Chamlwr is the hroken red granite sarco- 

 phagus of King Chufn, 7 feet 6J inches long, 3 feet 

 3 inches broad, and 3 feet ' inches high, to contain 

 which the pyramid was built. Pioz/i Smyth 

 fancied (for it is nothing more than fancy) that 

 this coffer was not a sarcophagus, hut a standard 



The Second Pyramid. 



measure of capacity, of which the British quarter 

 is the fourth part. As the heat of this chamber 

 was stilling, two -mall air-channels, or chimneys. 

 about eight inches square, were made, ascending 

 to the mirth and south side- of the pyramid, whi<-h 

 perfectly ventilate it. After the mummy was de- 

 posited in the King's Olmmlier, the entrance was 

 closed with granite portcullises, and a well made 

 at the junction of the upward -inclined and hori- 

 zontal passage*, by which the workmen descended 

 into the downward-inclined passage. According 

 to Herodotus, this pyramid took a long time in 

 construction 100,000 men heing employed on it 

 for thirty years. The facing-stones were said to l>e 

 inscrihcd with writing, probably of a religions 

 character. Thedrcat Pyramid was opened by i he 

 'Abhaide Caliph Kl Mamnn in the 9th century. 



The Second Pyramid is situated on a higher 

 elevation than the first, and was hnilt by Chafra 

 or Chephren ( 3656-3633 B.C.), third king of the 

 fonrth dynasty. It is 450 feet high, on a l>ase of 

 700 feet, and has two sepulchral chamliers, which 



were opened by Belzoni in 1816. The masonry is 

 inferior to the first, hut it was anciently 

 IN low with jMilished stones, some of which remain, 

 while the top still retain- ii- original casing. 



The Third Pyiamid, huilt hy Menkaura, or 

 u- i. ;:(.! H.C.). fourth king of the fonrth 

 dynasty, is much smaller than the other two, licing 

 oiily 215 feet high hy 3."i<) feet at the hase. It lias 

 three chain liers, the lowest of which, granite lined, 

 held a sarcophagus of whinstone and a wooden 

 cotlin. The inscription on the eollin reads : 'O-iris, 

 King of the North and South, Mcn-Kau-Ka, living 

 for ever I The heavens have produced thee. thou 

 was engendered by Nut (the sky), thou art the 

 nll'spring of Seh (the earth). Thy mother Nut 

 spreads herself over thee in her form as- a divine 

 mystery. She has granted thee to l>e a god. Thou 

 shall never more have enemies, O King of the 

 North and South, Men-Kan-Ka, living for ever' 

 (liudge. Tin .\i/f, 141-142). From this we may 

 conclude that the Egyptian religion and the doc- 

 trine of immortality were fixed as early I 

 B.C. Amongst the dehiis of the eollin and in the 

 chaml>ers were found the legs and part of the trunk 

 of a lx>dy with linen wrapper, supposed hv some to 

 he that of the monarch, hut hy others to be that of 

 an Arab. This liody and fragments of tin- eollin were 

 removed to the British Museum : hut the stone sar- 

 cophagus was unfortunately lost off 

 Carthagena bv the sinking of the 

 vessel in which it was being trans- 

 ported to England. The masonry 

 of this pyramid is most excellent, 

 and it was anciently cased half-way 

 up with granite, the remains of 

 which are still visible. It was 

 wantonly damaged by Saladin's 

 nephew, EI-Kamil, in the 1'Jth 

 century, in the insane desire of 

 destroying it. The Third Pyramid 

 i- regarded with superstitious dread 

 hy the natives, on account of a sup- 

 posed lady's ghost, and there is a 

 curious legend connecting it with 

 the courtesan Khodope. 



There are six other pyramids of 

 inferior size and intcn-i at (.i/eh; 

 others at Abou lioash, six miles to 

 the north-west of the same spot ; 

 and four (originally fourteen) at 

 Ahnsir (Imsiris), with the names 

 of Sahu-ra and Usr-en-ra of the 

 fifth and sixth dynasties. A group 

 of eleven pyramids remains at Sak- 

 kara, some of which were explored 

 in 18SO SI h\ M. Maspcro, such as 

 those of Unas (3333 B.C.), teta (3266), and Pepi 

 ( .T2:<.'( ), all of the fifth and sixth dyna-ties. The so 

 called Step Pyramid at Sakkara is believed to have 

 been built by Uenephes of the first dynasty. Six 



Syramids still stand at Dahshur; and that at Mey- 

 iini, with a peculiar construction in three stages, 

 is supposed to l>e the tomb of Senefeni ClTl'iii n.c. ), 

 Chnln's predecessor in the fourth dynasty. There 

 are also pyramids in the Kavyi'im, and some small 

 ones of brick at Thel>e8. In Nubia, the ancient 

 Ethiopia, are several pyramids, the tombs of the 

 monarch* of Meroe from (MX) la 100 B.C. and of 

 some of the Ethiopian conquerors of Egypt. They 

 are taller in proportion to their base' than the Egyp- 

 tian pyramids, and generally have a sepulchral 

 hall, or propylon, with sculptures, which faces the 

 Mtt 



In Assyria the Eire Nimrud, or Tower of Itelns, 

 was a kind of step-shaped pyramid of seven 

 different-coloured bricks, dedicated to the planets 

 by Nebuchadnezzar. The Mnjclliha, another 

 mound, was of pyramidal shape. The pyramid 



